The Delhi High Court rejected the plea that sought the halt of Central Vista construction work stating that the plea was a motivated one and the project is of national importance. Further, the Delhi High Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on the petitioners as the petitioners lacked a Bonafide.
Background
The Central Vista redevelopment project will see the construction of a new Parliament house, a new Prime Minister residential complex along with residential complexes for the Vice President. Further new office buildings, multiple museums will be constructed.
Since its inception, the project has been the cause of debate among the Centre and the opposition. The opposition claims that the Centre has been overlooking the issue at hand (COVID-19 crisis) and pouring Rs. 20,000 crores in the project, the Centre has claimed that the project will be managed under strict COVID-19 protocols and is of national importance.
Delhi HC dismisses a plea seeking direction to suspend all construction activity of the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project in view of the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic.
The court imposed Rs 1 lakh fine on petitioners & says it's a motivated plea. It was not a PIL pic.twitter.com/vsIzqFjWLW
— ANI (@ANI) May 31, 2021
Details
On Monday, the Delhi High Court’s bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said that the redevelopment work at the Central Vista Avenue “is an essential project of national importance. Public is vitally interested in the project.” Further the bench also ruled that the PIL was not genuine and was a motivated one, and thus, the bench imposed Rs. 1 lakh on the petitioners.
“Motivated petition and an ingenuine PIL”: Delhi High Court
The bench also added that the construction is supposed to be completed before November and hence, time is of essence in this situation.
“They have to complete the construction before November 2021. Time is of essence. Once workers are staying at site and all facilities are provided and COVID 19 behavior are adhered to, no reason to stop the project.”
-the bench observed.
The bench further added, “This a motivated petition preferred by the petitioner and is not a genuine Public Interest Litigation,” and imposed Rs. 1 lakh on the petitioners.
The bench cited the DDMA’s (Department of Delhi Disaster Management Authority) order which said that there must not be any prohibition on construction when the labourors associated to the projects are in fact residing on the site.
“Since the workers who are working at the project are staying on site, there is no question of issuing directions to suspend the work of Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project,”
-the court said.
The legality of the project has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,”
-the court further added.
Also Read: Your Guide to the New Indian Parliament Building
Who are the petitioners?
The petitioners who approached the Delhi High Court are Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi. The petitioners wanted a stay on the Central Vista project construction citing COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in the cases in the national capital as a reason. The petitioners claimed that the construction work could turn into a potential super spreader and thus, sought a stay.
What did the petitioner’s lawyer say?
Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra argued before the Delhi High Court that the right to life is the most paramount life and in the view of increasing COVID-19 cases, the court should put a stay on the construction of the redevelopment project.
Mr. Luthra also submitted some evidences to the High Court. According to Mr. Luthra, as many as 400 construction workers are being ferried in buses and brought to the site. Mr. Luthra also gave reference to certain pictures in which empty tents and no beds are shown.
He labelled the project as the “Central Fortress of Death” and pointed out to the fact that the project is completely off access so no one can actually see the steps taken by the Centre to ensure the safety of the workers.
The Response given by Centre
The Centre was represented by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued,
“There’s no denying that Right to health is part of fundamental rights, and government has to ensure that Health, wellbeing and safety is protected… The question is, your Lordships are custodian of fundamental rights of everyone…Will stopping the project really help the workers?”
Mr. Mehta also claimed that the petition was another fabricated tactic put in use to stop the construction, under one pretext or other.
“It is just an attempt to some kind of vanity in minds of some individuals that no we will stop this. Petitioners are not concerned with workers or life of citizens,”
-Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre said.
Also Read: With a 2:1 majority, Supreme Court approves Parliament redevelopment project
